COLUMBIA, S.C. >> South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson says he will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court after losing in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and before a federal judge in South Carolina in rapid succession on Tuesday.

A unanimous three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has turned down Wilson’s bid to stop gay couples from getting married in South Carolina.

Also late Tuesday afternoon: U.S. Judge Michelle Childs of Columbia upheld a Lexington gay couple’s bid to get legal recognition from the state of South Carolina.

The couple, Katherine Bradacs and Tracie Goodwin, had been legally married in the District of Columbia.

Judge Childs ruled that an anti-gay marriage amendment to the state of South Carolina’s constitution and a state law banning recognition of same-sex marriage were unconstitutional under the U.S. Constitution.

South Carolina’s laws violate Bradacs’ and Goodwin’s right to due process, Childs ruled.

The 4th Circuit ruling, handed down shortly before 5 p.m. EST Tuesday, denied Wilson’s request for a stay of U.S. Judge Richard Gergel’s order last week that would permit gay marriages to get underway at one minute past noon on Thursday.

As a practical matter, most gay couples who wanted to get married — no one knows how many that would be — would at that time be able to apply for a marriage license, then have to wait 24 hours.

The couple in the lawsuit in question, however, has already applied for a marriage license. They are Colleen Condon and Ann Bleckley of Charleston.

A spokesman for Wilson said he intends to appeal the 4th Circuit’s ruling immediately to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Wilson will almost certainly appeal Childs’ order also.